Peace or Not (Avatar Roleplay)

"You really don't recognize us?" said Toph, speaking to the guard. "We shouldn't even need an invitation!"

The guard told her she should still show it.

Toph grumbled and dug around in her sack. She finally showed a rather rumbled piece of paper.

"I think that's it."

"Not so fast," the guard told her gruffly, unintimidated by the name "Bei Fong" prominently displayed on the invite. This wasn't the Earth Kingdom after all. He continued, "That invite only allows one person and a date. The Water Tribe peasant still can't enter."

"Come on! I'm Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe!" Sokka exclaimed, "I traveled with the Avatar!"

"Never heard of you. Besides, the Avatar's waterbending teacher was female," the guard said, crossing his arms.

Sokka's face fell. No one ever mentioned the non-bender.

(LOL. I love torturing Sokka).

OOC: I've noticed. ^O^

***

IC: Toph

"Don't you have an invitation?" Toph waved hand. "Forget it. You're worse than I am when it comes to being organized, you scatter-brained idiot." To the guard, she said, "Look, he's my date, okay? Or my guest. Whatever. Are you gonna let us in or not?"

"Fine," the guard sighed, stepping aside, "But you better look after him."

Sokka crossed his arms and said sarcastically, "Right away, Mr. Fire Nation Guard. I won't be leaving her sight."

(It's fun! )

"It wouldn't be easy to do that, believe me," said Toph. She grabbed Sokka by the sleeve and dragged him past the guard. "C'mon, Snoozles."

"Yes, honey," Sokka joked following her. Despite his new-found maturity, though, he couldn't resist sticking his tongue out at the guard as he passed.

"Well, that was fun," muttered Toph, as they walked down the main hallway into the palace-proper. "I should've known something like that would happen. We have that kind of luck."

"Tell me about it," Sokka told her dryly before blushing a little and rubbing the back of his head, "I'm sorry for, you know, taking up your date slot thing or whatever. I guess I should be more organized. Looks like you're stuck with me all night."

He fell silent, his self-esteem not quite recovering after his break up with Suki. This was just another thing he messed up with.

"I could've been stuck with someone much worse," said Toph. She didn't like that he had fallen so silent, and even his last joke lacked the excitement Sokka usually showed when he kidded around. "And, believe me, I wouldn't have had a date anyway. Guys really don't go for girls who are pretty much guys themselves."

"Hey, it's their loss! I mean, you're not exactly like a guy and you're fun to be around," Sokka argued, not liking how she put herself down like that. Growing up in the Water Tribe, a certain protectiveness for friends and family was drilled into him since he could remember. He continued, blushing a little, "And, well, you've grown pretty over the years. If they can't see that, they're the ones that are blind."

Toph stopped walking. She had been pleased when he rose to her defense, forgetting his own sadness, just as she had intended. But she had not expected him to compliment her in that way. She hardly ever did.

Toph had never thought of herself as "pretty" or "beautiful." Actually hearing it from someone...? She didn't know what to make of it.

So she just blushed and punched him in the arm.

"You're an idiot, Snoozles."

"Hmm... Remind me next time not to cheer you up," Sokka told her dryly, rubbing his arm where she hit him, "I still stand by what I said."

He looked around as they entered the grounds, wondering if they were there early.

The grounds were oddly silent. Toph guessed she and Sokka had to be the earliest ones to arrive. Which was well and good with her. She could prepare herself for all the group-hugging that was sure to come, once the rest of the "gAang" got there.

It also gave her a chance to ask Sokka something.

"Sokka... How are you doing? Really?" she said, in a low voice only he would hear.

"Oh, I'm fine," Sokka told her, lying so she wouldn't have to worry about him. This was a wedding after all and men didn't cry about emotional problems.

"Well, mostly," he amended, hoping that would keep her from detecting a lie.

"You are not fine. Not even mostly fine," said Toph. She was only guessing on the second one. It had been pretty close to the truth, as far as she could tell. But she refused to let this go. She was worried about him. "Talk to me, Sokka."

Sokka sighed. There was no fooling Toph, especially when she wanted to find out the truth about something. She was stubborn like that.

"Well, I feel like I just mess thing up. I mean, I was the only nonbender on Team Avatar and you heard what the guard said. I'm not even important enough to be remembered. And it's probably my fault that Suki broke up with me. She just felt sorry for me so she didn't tell me why," Sokka confessed, looking away.

Toph was taken aback by the confession. He actually thought that? It infuriated her to no end. Growling, she punched him as hard as she could.

"You idiot!" she said, "glaring" at him as best she could. "How can you be that dense? Why would you ever think you ever did something wrong? You're too good for that. Way too good!"

Sokka looked up, actually experiencing one of her punches without her laughing afterwards. Spirits it hurt. He was even more surprised that she sounded so angry. He rubbed where she punched him.

"I was just the idea guy," he told her a last.

"No, you weren't," she said. "You were more than that. It was you who figured out how to take down that stupid drill, it was you who led an invasion that would've worked if the Earth King hadn't blabbed, and it was you who knew how to stop the air-ships from destroying everything. You were the one that made us laugh when we were feeling low, you kept an eye out and saw dangers the rest of us were too stupid to see, and you stayed up late at night just to make sure the rest of us were doing okay."

She knew he would be surprised she knew that. No doubt he had wanted to keep that a secret, but she didn't care.

"You were our leader!" she continued. "The one we could turn to when things looked bad, 'cause you always had some stupid idea forming in your thick skull. You put yourself in danger the same as the rest of us, only you had to be two times as brave 'cause you didn't have bending powers to save your ass like the rest of us. You weren't born all that lucky; you've earned the crap you've accomplished, and that's worth a lot more than being a prodigy with any kind of bending, earthbending included."

She took in a deep breath, winded after saying so much. Spirits, she was just so angry with him for being so stupid. Every word she spoke was like a blow, and she wanted to make sure he got the message.

"And you're my best friend, the only one good enough, or crazy enough, to be willing to stick with me even when I don't deserve it. No, I don't deserve you. Like I said, you're too good, and anyone who doesn't get that deserves a kick in the ass."

Sokka stared at her, as if seeing her for the first time. How did she know so much about him, especially about the nights where he did stay up all night, planning on what to do next or what to do incase they were ambushed by the Fire Nation. He had thought he kept that a secret. He was very careful to goto bed early, much to his sister's annoyance so they wouldn't suspect, but it seemed he hadn't fooled Toph.

It made him feel strange that Toph knew so many good things about him, things that he forgot after his initial moment of glory. She didn't though and just hearing that made him feel warm inside. He didn't know she held anyone with so high regard. He didn't know what he was doing. He was suddenly very close to her.

"Toph, thank you," he told her at last with a smile.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," she muttered, still irritated with him. "Just stop sulking and moping around already. It's annoying, and you're better than that."

In a calmer, gentler voice, she added, "I am sorry about you and Suki, you know. It's just... I know it's not your fault, so don't think like that, okay?"

"Okay. I guess I needed some sense knocked into me," he admitted wit ha shrug, "Thank you. You're a good friend."

"I guess so," said Toph. "I've been told I'm selfish too, so we'll see how that turns out." She patted his arm. "Weren't we going to go make fun of princess or something?"

"Princess," Zuko said, an eyebrow raised. "I hope you aren't referring to me Toph."

He smiled slightly at the two, a little upset that he was somewhat late in greeting people.

"It's nice to see you both. Welcome to the Fire Nation's capital."
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"Everyone's doing well. Things have been much better since we aren't being attacked any longer. And why yes he has-What?" Jet gave Suki a look. "What was that last comment?"
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The Fire Nation guard looked at Shizuka and she fidgetted under his glaze.

"Name?"

"We're the performers. Your Last Act."

The man looked at a list and nodded. Shizuka sighed in relief. At least that was one (small) bridge she had crossed. Now seeing Zuko.

"I don't think I can do this," she said suddenly, about ready to flee. But she could already see Zuko. There was no running now.

Suki laughed aloud, unable to hold back, "You two are too easy."

She looked from Suki and Haru, "You two would make a cute couple."

*

"I don't think she was referring to me," Mai told her boyfriend as she walked over beside him. She smiled a little, "I can see why she would call you that, knowing Toph."

Sokka snickered. It was fun watching other guys being emasculated by their women.